Actions and Reactions
by frankiebaby
Summary: Post-Starcrossed. Wonder Woman, concerned about Flash, finds herself becoming attracted to him as his maturity grows- and makes a decison about her relationship with the Dark Knight. FLWW- Yeah, you read it right. FLWW. Reviews, and ideas welcome!
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing, and no infringement is intended. The characters I refer to belong to DC.

**Rating**: R. For later smut and other great things. Now it's PG-13.

It was midnight.

Rain was drumming on the roof of Wayne Manor, and Wonder Woman could not sleep.

Normally the sound of rain was welcome. It was soothing, and reminded her of hunting trips with her sisters in Themyscria, sleeping huddled together under crude shelters as the summer rain fell above in gentle rhythms…she rolled onto her side and sighed. Tonight, the rain offered no relief- in fact, it seemed to be mocking her sudden bout of insomnia.

Diana tossed and turned among her hot, sweaty sheets, but relief would not come. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the figure of a young woman staring at her, large green eyes both accusing and apologetic, shimmering with unshed tears.

Hawkgirl…

Opening her eyes, she sat up and kicked back her covers impatiently. It was no use.

Pulling herself out of bed, she headed for the door. She'd go crazy if she stayed inside that room another minute…

Diana moved silently into the hallway, her feet padding gently against the polished wood floor. _Maybe I should head to Batman's room and surprise him, _she thought with a smirk. He probably would never recover, for all he thought he was so great. _Nahhh._ As much as she _did _like Batman, the last thing she needed to do was give him the encouragement needed for his male ego to rear its ugly head. _He knows what I feel for him, and we'll see what happens. _With that thought, she resolved to put him out of her mind- at least, for now.

Reaching the landing at the top of the staircase that led up to her wing of the house, Diana paused in front of a large window and peered out at the storm. Sheets of rain fell from the sky to the ground. She leaned forward and pressed her fingers against the cool glass, then pushed it outward. The window opened easily.

Diana knelt on the sill and stuck her head out the window, glancing up at the night sky. "Morpheus," she breathed. She closed her eyes, allowing the water to cascade down her face, neck and shoulders. It was cool, wet, and cleansing- in a way, she could imagine it washing away all the week's previous events. "Give me rest," she said, softly, picturing the dark, gentle god of the night.

A rustle behind her made her open her eyes and pull her head and shoulders back in, twisting her heavy, dark hair behind her neck in a loose coil. It was wet, dripping with rainwater. The drops ran down her back and face.

"Hey." The intruder's voice was low, mild, male…Flash. _Wally, really. I should get used to calling him that…_

Wally stood in the hallway, barefoot as well, dressed in only a pair dark green pajama bottoms hanging low on his hips. His hair was rumpled and standing on end. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

Diana felt a flash of irritation that such a private moment had been intruded upon, but shrugged. "Nope." She reached out and closed the window. "It isn't the rain, though. I've always loved thunderstorms, since I was a little girl. I couldn't sleep because of well…everything, really."

Flash nodded and leaned against the wall. "I hear ya." He ran his fingers through his hair, making the red spikes look even more intimidating in their uncombed state. "I wonder where she is…think she's okay?"

"Only the Green Lantern knows that, and he isn't talking," Diana said brusquely. She didn't want to discuss her rouge teammate with anybody. Not yet.

Flash surprisingly didn't push the issue; he merely nodded. "You'd…you'd better change before you catch…like, a cold…" he lowered his gaze.

Diana looked down. In addition to her wet hair, her thin nightshirt was now soaked through to her skin, clinging to her breasts and belly. She pulled the sodden fabric away from her body, and it made a sucking sound. She laughed, low. "I didn't even notice."

Flash joined in her laughter somewhat uneasily and averted his eyes. _I did. Kind of hard not to, since you're totally-…okay. Not going there. Not tonight, anyway…_ He'd definitely had…well…_inappropriate _thoughts about his Amazonian teammate in the past, but they were usually swift and fleeting. It seemed almost…sacrilegious to fantasize about her…"Um, yeah. I'm going to the kitchen."

"Let me come with you," Diana ducked into her room, pulling off the shirt and dropping it on the floor, replacing it with an oversized sweatshirt. She opened the door and followed her teammate through the dimly lit halls of the manor. Flash seemed to know his way to the kitchen (no big surprise) and walked in quickly, opening the fridge. "Man, that's cold," he muttered, stepping back from the icy air.

"For the love of Zeus, put a shirt on," Diana sat down on a stool, crossing her long, bare legs and studying his naked back absentmindedly. "You have much better chance of catching cold than I do."

Flash shook his head, inwardly grateful that the coolness of the fridge had pretty much taken care of any…embarrassing problems caused earlier by Diana's appearance. _I mean…what was that? She's totally hot, yeah…but this isn't exactly the time to be thinking about it…right?_

He emerged from the fridge, both hands filled with food. "Got to give the ladies something to look at," he said, flashing her his trademark grin. When Diana shook her head, he dropped his load on the countertop and flexed his abs from side to side. "Eat your heart put, Prince."

Diana's response was to roll her eyes and chuck a roll of paper towels at his head, but inwardly she was relieved. Flash, had been unusually quiet since Hawkgirl's resignation- quieter than the GL, even. She remembered the tender glance he'd given Hawkgirl after releasing her, and briefly thought that…perhaps he'd been closer to her, had thought more of her than anyone had ever suspected.

Feeling Diana's eyes on him, Flash looked up and blinked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"I…no!" Slightly flustered, Diana tucked her hair behind her ears. "I was trying to figure out what you've got there." Her brow creased. "I got lost somewhere around the…" her upper lip curled slightly. "What _is _that?"

Flash'd face cleared, and he smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Alfred keeps that sucker _stocked. _I've got three kinds of lunchmeat, hero bread, four kinds of cheese, mayo, jalepeno peppers, chocolate syrup, pickles, half of a chocolate cake…"

"You sound like a pregnant woman's dream and a nutritionist's nightmare." Diana reached over the counter. "You can start me with the chocolate cake." She eagerly unwrapped the wax-paper package and dug in, much to Flash's amusement.

"What?" she said, spraying a mouthful of chocolate crumbs across the table in a decidedly, un-princessey manner.

"Never thought the lady Di could chow down half a chocolate cake at midnight. That's it."

Diana managed to swallow before she laughed. "You don't know me very well." She wiped her hands on her sweatshirt, stood and stretched. "I'm headed for bed. You okay in here?"

"Yeah, yeah." Flash was now engrossed in his sandwich.

"Night, Flash." She reached over and ruffled his hair (it was quickly becoming habitual, she thought) and headed for the door.

"Night."

"So…is everyone clear on what's going on for the next two weeks?"

The Justice League were all seated around the dining room table of Wayne Manor, finishing an elegant breakfast that had been served up in a singular style by an impeccably-dressed Alfred. When the last of their cheese-and-egg puffs, fresh fruit, sausage and granola had been consumed, Batman pushed back his plate and began conversation in his usual matter-of-fact tone. "I want to thank you all for being my guests this weekend," he said, formally.

Superman snickered and elbowed Wonder Woman in the side. "That's Batcode for, 'get the heck out of my house.'"

Batman cleared his throat and continued. "Plans for a new Watchtower are in effect; it's actually being built as we speak."

"Financed by who?" the Green Lantern asked warily, his eyebrows drawing together. "I can't imagine that you footed the bill again, Bruce."

Batman shook his head. "No. It's being financed in part by government funds, in part from our…team funds." He paused. "However, it won't be ready for another two weeks or so."

Superman whistled under his breath. "Pretty short time, considering that a new satellite has to be built and launched."

Batman shrugged. "Those are the days I was given."

"Well," said the Green Lantern testily, "you seemed to have squared everything away quite well without us. What is this meeting for?"

Batman ignored the sarcasm in John's tone. "I just wanted to tell you all that you can consider yourselves off for the next two weeks," he said, smoothly. "The Teen Titans can handle things during our sabbatical- actually, they're very pleased to get their feet wet on some real cases- and I want to get some candidates ready for interviews."

"Interviews for what?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Interviews to join the Justice League." Batman's eyes scanned over them. "As you all know, we _do _need a replacement. Possibly more than one person."

John looked at him sharply, but said nothing.

J'onn's voice broke over the silence, mellow and deep. "If we have any recommendations-"

"Give them to me." Batman's tone allowed no argument. "I'll take care of them, and screen them. We can vote on the final candidates."

"Kind of a Justice League American Idol," joked Superman weakly, but no one felt like laughing. Too much was going on…he was tempted to protest the Bat's blatant takeover of all the team matters, but, honestly, he didn't want to deal with anything after what he'd just been through, and two weeks of nothing but R&R sounded _so _good…

A glance around at his teammates seemed to prove that most of them thought the same thing. Let Batman handle it if he wanted to…they _all _needed a rest…

"You are all welcome to stay here, if you want to." Batman's eyes fell on Diana, then shifted away quickly. "Please feel free."

She smiled.

They finished up and headed to their rooms to pack, talking quietly among themselves about their various plans. The Green Lantern was headed to his place in Detroit; he had some family there he wanted to visit, and then possibly to Oa for a few days. Superman was planning to take Lois to Smallville for a couple weeks; he welcomed any opportunity to visit his hometown. J'onn was going there too, on special invitation by Mr. and Mrs. Kent. Flash, presumably, was headed back to his bachelor pad Keystone, and Wonder Woman-

Wonder Woman was looking for Batman.

After all her teammates had disappeared, she headed back towards the door in which she'd seen Batman disappear, knocking hesitantly before pushing it open. The door opened to reveal a fair-sized study, whose furnishings consisted of only a rather large desk and high-backed leather chair. Batman was seated in this chair, pushing papers around. He raised his eyebrows when she walked in.

"Hello," she said softly, walking up to him.

"Princess." His gaze lingered on her for a moment, slipping briefly down her body, and she shifted, feeling warmth spreading downwards. But he shifted his eyes to the papers in his hands.

Diana leaned forward, her long hair brushing his desk, a hint of perfume wafting over him. "What are you doing?" her voice was low, and slightly husky, despite her efforts to keep it still.

"Working." He frowned slightly and looked up, his eyes unreadable behind his cowl. "Is there anything you wanted, Princess?"

Slightly taken aback, Diana straightened up. "I just wanted…to talk."

"About what?"

"Us."

Batman sighed, as if he already knew where the conversation was headed. "Diana, I have quite a bit to do tonight, and-"

"I understand." Diana stood to her feet. "Don't worry. I'll just talk to you later. I mean, we have two weeks, and-"

"_You _have two weeks, you mean," Batman said. He picked up a particular page and held it up to the light.

"We'll be able to talk, and…..what?"

"I said, you have two weeks." Batman carefully folded his selected paper and placed it in an envelope. "I'm leaving here tomorrow."

"You're leaving me in _your _house?" Diana's comment came out much more incredulous-sounding than she would have liked it to, but she WAS shocked. "You're leaving me here?"

Batman shrugged impatiently. "You know you're welcome to stay if you wish, Diana. I really don't have much to do with it. Alfred will see to your needs." He stood to his feet.

Wonder Woman was so shocked she couldn't speak, and in a moment became just as angry. "Why-" she sputtered. "But I thought-" was Batman really this callous?

Batman sighed again. "Look, Princess. I know what you're thinking- and it wouldn't work out. It just wouldn't."

Diana was speechless.

"I…have issues. So do you. And this whole…mess the Justice League is in complicates everything as well. Sometimes I wish…" a faraway look crossed his face, and he shook his head as of to clear it. "I mean…" he looked her in the eye. "You do understand what I'm trying to tell you."

For a long, unbelievably still moment, Wonder Woman just stared at him, her blue eyes as dark and as still as two pools of water, a crimson flush covering her face. When she spoke, her voice was icy- and carefully controlled.

"I will be out of here within the hour." There was no anger in her tone, no resentment. It was cool, collected.

"You don't have to do that."

"Oh, yes, I do." Diana turned on her heel and went out, her long hair brushing her back.

Batman looked after her, pulled off his cowl. An expression of pain crossed his face for the briefest of instants, but it quickly cleared.

After another moment, he sat down- and resumed his work, but with considerably less motivation than before.

Wonder Woman strode through the halls of the Manor at top speed, heading for her room. Barreling across the floor, she didn't even notice Superman, J'onn and Lantern until she had crashed squarely into Superman.

"Damn," she hissed, rubbing her shoulder. She had bounced right off of him. Amazon warrior or not, hitting a 250-pound Kryptonian while going at full speed _did _hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Di, I'm sorry!" Superman dropped his bags, and the three men gathered around her where she was now sitting on the floor.

"I'm fine!" growled Diana, hoisting herself to her feet. Se was more sore and angry than actually hurt. "Why don't you watch where you're going, Clark? This hallway _is _big enough for all of us, you know."

Clark opened his mouth, but shut it when J'onn shot him a warning look. Apparently, he'd picked up on some of Diana's thoughts- and incensing her further probably wasn't the best idea at this point. Instead, he assumed a polite tone. "Sorry, Diana. Um, we're just going to get a car to the airport- want to carpool with us?"

She bit her lip. "No," she snapped. At the looks on her teammates faces, however, she forced herself to use a politer tone. "I mean, I'm not done packing yet. You guys go ahead."

"Oh, I get it," Superman gave her a wink, nudged his teammates and moved on down the hall. "Have a good time, Di."

Diana gave him a brittle smile. "Likewise, Clark. See you in a couple weeks. Bye, GL, J'onn."

"Goodbye, Diana."

"Later, Princess."

The men moved down the hall to the stairwell and disappeared down it. She could hear their voices grow lower and lower as they reached the bottom; then she heard the front door slam.

Diana marched to her room, shoving her few belongings into the duffel bag that Alfred had provided. Despite the pounding she gave her clothes, though, she felt even worse when she emerged from her bedroom. She paused for a moment to massage her aching temples- now where _would _she go? She had no apartment, no home outside the Watchtower, and it was too late to jump on the bandwagon and go with another Leaguer…Superman already had guests; the Green Lantern was in _way _too dark a mood to get along with for two weeks…and Flash? No.

Besides, she'd done enough invading on the hospitality of others. She shot a competuous glance in the general direction of the study downstairs and quickened her steps. _Perhaps I can stay with Audrey, give her a call…_but her friend was completely engrossed with her fiancé. Plus, as much as she loved Audrey, she really didn't feel like seeing her. Audrey would likely drag her to every formal event under the son, and the truth? She just wanted to rest…and sort out the thoughts that were now swirling through her mind.

"Diana?"

She turned.

Flash was standing at the other end of the hallway, presumably having just emerged from his room. A duffel was slung over his shoulder, across his chest. He was dressed in cargo pants, a blue cotton button-down that just _screamed _J-Crew, and Converses. Even from a distance, she could see that his hair was standing up every which way.

"You're getting better at sneaking up on people than Batman is," she said, crossly.

Flash shrugged. "Sorry." He began to walk towards her, and she frowned. That was quite unusual- Flash never turned down the opportunity to run down a long hallway. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged again and nodded, but Diana wasn't so sure. Besides the rumpled hair and college-frat-boy clothes, his face held a…lethargy she couldn't place, one that surpassed ordinary tiredness. A sadness, even. When he lifted his blue eyes to hers, they were decidedly lacking in emotion.

_He didn't say a word all morning, _Diana realized, remembering how her usually gregarious teammate had behaved during the morning meeting. _Is he sick? _She searched his face, trying to find traces of the merry-faced kid she'd shared a midnight snack with the night before, but all were gone. _He looks…so much older. We probably all do, _she realized with a jolt.

"Where are you going to go?" Wally asked tonelessly, breaking into her reverie.

"I…" Diana started. "I have no idea, really." She leaned against the railing. "I was going to call Audrey, but…" she shook her head.

Flash didn't question her further. "You're not staying here?"

"No." her tone was decisive. "I really don't know, Flash. Maybe I'll head to New York…stay at the Waldorf for a couple days. They always are excited to have another celebrity." She managed a smile. "It's sweet of you to ask, though."

Wally raked a hand through his rebellious hair. "Look…if you want to, you can come to Keystone with me."

"What?"

"Come to Keystone. To my place." He lifted his head. "It's small, but there's plenty of room for two people."

Diana frowned. Two weeks ago she would have taken this suggestion as a blatant come-on, but Flash wasn't flirting with her. Not today. On the contrary, he seemed to barely care which way she answered.

"I…are you sure?" Diana paused. "I don't want to intrude."

For the first time that morning, a ghost of a smile appeared on Flash's face. "Oh yeah, you'll be intruding all right. On my TV time and McDonalds midnight runs. Come on, Diana. I really…" he paused. "I really would love to have you."

Diana smiled, albeit a bit uncertainly. "Well…all right." _I can always leave if it gets too weird…besides, it's _Flash. _It'll be like rooming with a little brother for a couple weeks…_

"Cool." Flash reached down and picked up her bag for her. "Let's get going. If we start out now, we can get there by tonight."

Diana nodded. "After you." She followed her teammate down the hall, marveling at the change she saw in him. He didn't speak; his jaw was tight; his skin lacked it's usual high color; and dark circles under his eyes made them look tired. _I really should ask him what's wrong…_

But…she really didn't want to get involved with other people's problems. Not while she still had her own.

Hello all, this is my first fanfic here so please review! And please be advised, the RATING WITLL CHANGE in later chapters, so keep an eye out for it!


	2. Roomates

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

**Rating: **PG-13 for now, will change later.

"So…this is your place."

It was just after six-o-clock in the evening, and Diana had arrived in Keystone with the Flash after an uneventful six-hour drive in a rental car. Surprisingly, Wally elected to drive instead of using his super-speed to get to his destination; "I'm off the job," was all he would say when Diana asked him why. The drive had been quiet, the silence broken only by the Korn CD that Wally had popped into the player. He then focused on the road, apparently lost in his own thoughts…

Diana felt uneasy. Would he be like this for the entire two weeks?

"Welcome to my shack." Diana looked up, distracted from her thoughts. Flash offered her a wry grin, then flipped on a switch, flooding the apartment with light. From the front door, Diana could see that they were in the entryway of a surprisingly roomy living room, decorated entirely in…black, white and red?

Flash caught her expression and cracked up. "Decorating scheme of an ex-girlfriend," he remarked. "It's strange, I know."

Diana moved forward cautiously. The wooden floor was covered with an intricately-patterned black, white and red rug, and sunlight streamed in form an enormous skylight.. A black leather couch took up the side of one pristine white wall, on which hung and enormous Keith Haring print in black, white and red. A white leather loveseat, red lacquered divan and black leather chair completed the furniture in the room.

"Strange," Diana agreed, balancing gingerly on the edge of the white loveseat. "It doesn't look like you at all, Flash." With him, she expected a comfortably messy loft. Rock posters, perhaps. A black plasma big-screen that took up an entire wall. This was too…funky artistic, too modern.

"Well, that's because she wasn't like me, at all." Flash's voice broke into her thoughts, and he tossed his duffel bag on the couch. He wasn't smiling anymore.

Diana's eyes fell on a picture sitting on a side table, framed in- what else? Black glass. It featured a grinning Wally West with his arms wrapped around a tiny, dark-haired woman with large, extraordinarily lashed eyes. They were on the beach, apparently- she was wrapped in an enormous beach towel, and Flash was wearing baggy swim trunks. "This her?"

Flash looked over sharply, then dashed over, looking embarrassed. "Oh. Yeah. I don't even know why that's still out- we broke up a while ago."

Wonder Woman knew she shouldn't pry, but she couldn't resist. "What was her name?"

"Jessica."

"She's pretty."

"That she is." He took the picture and tossed it into the drawer underneath the table. "She's in Cali now, trying to get into the movies."

"Wow. She…doesn't…I mean, she…"

"Doesn't seem like my type, right?" Flash grinned at her; his good humor seemed to be back. "Let me guess. You figured she'd be a leggy blonde with a silicone rack, right?"

Diana was taken aback. "I would never-" then she caught the look on his face. "Okay, I fold," she said, chuckling. "So…why did you two break up? I mean…if you want to answer," she added quickly. She didn't even know why she was so interested, except for the fact that she couldn't picture her happy-go-lucky teammate with a girlfriend, talk less of a steady one.

"No, it's okay." Flash's eyes came back to her face, and she caught a glimpse of what might be…pain, behind his eyes. "It was a long time ago. I-I had just joined the Justice League, and…" he shrugged. "It didn't work out."

"I'm sorry."

"It's cool. We would have been in Dutch anyway- we weren't that much alike to begin with."

"Wow."

The two stood in a slightly uncomfortable silence for a moment; then Flash clapped his hands together, abruptly. "So!" he said, a little bit too loudly. "I'll bet you're hungry…and come on, I'll show you where you'll sleep so that you can dump your luggage."

Flash led her through a hallway, indicating doors to his left and right as he went. "That's the bathroom, hall closet, and TV room," he said. "I'm gonna sleep in there. You get my room, since there's an actual bed in there." He opened a door at the end of the hall. "Let me warn you…I have no idea what it looks like in there. Haven't been back since…" his eyes grew distant. "Since I joined the League."

"What about Christmas?"

"I…stayed with someone else," he said evasively.

Wonder Woman kind of wondered whether that 'someone' was the elusive Jessica, but she had been nosy enough for one afternoon.

"Well, get settled!" Flash threw open the door with a flourish and raced off in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?" yelled Wonder Woman.

"I need to pee!"

Diana shook her head and stepped into the doorway. The minute she saw the interior of the room, she began to laugh. "This looks a _lot _more like you," she said, walking in.

Flash's bedroom was small, especially compared to the rest of the apartment, but it looked comfortably lived in, despite its cleanliness. She walked in and dropped down on top of his Keystone Kings basketball comforter and stretched out her legs, kicking off her sneakers with a groan of relief. "Great Hera, that was a long drive," she muttered. "I must have been insane to agree to it."

In a second, Flash zipped into the room, stopping just in time. "It does look the same!" he glanced furtively at Diana, then ducked down to the floor and began to look under the bed.

She flopped onto her stomach and leaned over, trying to get a look at him. "What on earth are you doing?" all she could see of him were his Converses.

"Looking…for…something…"

"What, your two-year collection of _Playboy _magazines?" she teased, remembering his stash at the Watchtower.

"Ha ha." Flash emerged from under the bed, his hair and face dusty and rumpled. "Those are _Maxim _magazines, I'll have you know."

"Much classier." She narrowed her eyes, then widened them when she saw what he was holding. "Is that…"

"Candy corn!" Flash ripped open the dusty bag, spilling half the contents into his lap. "I _knew _I left this bag under here."

"But its months old!"

"So what? Sugar doesn't spoil." He said this through a mouthful of the candy. He held out the bag.

Diana backed away. "No, thanks," she said with a laugh. "So…"

"So?"

"What do you do for fun around this place?" she stood up and yanked her fleece pullover over her head.

Wally smiled, a bit wickedly. "Thought you'd never ask."

* * *

"Ye gods, I am about to _burst."_

Flash glared up at Wonder Woman. "Would serve you right if you did," he grumbled under his breath.

At dinnertime, they'd called the local Chinese food place and ordered, just for fun, all of the chicken items on the menu. ("Do you do this a lot?" Wonder Woman had asked when the food arrived.) There was a staggering amount of chicken, cooked in as many ways as there were on the menu- sesame chicken, General Tso's chicken, sweet and sour chicken, chicken with cashews, chicken with peanut sauce…then Flash had pulled out his X-Box, claiming that he was going to "school her" in the art of "being beat gracefully" at video games.

Diana laughed and stretched out her legs, finishing off her movement with a not-so-graceful burp. "Why, Wally, darling. Are you _upset?" _

Flash muttered something intelligible, rolling onto his stomach and buying his face in his arms.

Diana laughed again.

It was midnight, and she and Flash were sitting in the previously-immaculate den, which now looked as if a bomb had hit it with _impunity_. Chinese food containers were scattered about on the chairs, the floor, the coffee table- anywhere there was room. Flash's X-Box was on, and the ending stats of his _NBA Live 2005 _game was now frozen on the screen. A large college-dorm style multi-bulb lamp filled the room with light.

"Aw, Flashie, upset that I beat you?" Diana leaned forward until her lips were right next to his ear. "_Eight_ times?"

Flash sat up, a frustrated scowl on his face. "You cheated!" he insisted. He still couldn't believe that Diana had beat him at all his best games- and multiple times, too! He took in her smirking face for a second, fuming. Then he grabbed a sofa cushion- and fired it at her face.

Taken by surprise, Diana actually tumbled off the couch and onto the floor. By the time she regained her composure, her assailant was standing over her, grinning, wielding a second pillow. His hair was standing on end- and he looked slightly crazy. She considered yelling at him- then she had a better idea. She lunged to her feet.

Flash, however, saw what was coming and took off, racing around the living room, laughing like an idiot. Diana took to the air and lifted another pillow. _Got to time it…just…right…_

She let the pillow fly.

Flash felt something slam into his chest, and then felt himself falling backwards. Next thing he knew, he was strung up to the ceiling fan by Diana's lasso. She stood at the bottom, smirking, hands on her slender hips.

"You win," groaned Flash.

"Well, what do you know…it _does _make people speak the truth!" still laughing, Diana untied him and lifted him down. He scowled at her and attempted to regain his lost dignity by brushing himself off, but saw the absurdity of the situation and began to laugh himself. "Come on, it's almost one in the morning. What do you say we do, clean up in here and crack open a carton of Breyers?"

"Ice cream in the middle of the night?"

"No better way to eat it, Princess."

Diana shrugged. _Why not? _She was beginning to be glad that she'd come with the Flash- she felt more relaxed than she had in…decades, really. "Do you have coffee-flavored ice cream?"

"I'll have to check." Wally stretched and grabbed the wastebasket from the side of the couch, tossing Chinese food cartons into it. Diana began closing the ones that still had food in them- thanks to Wally, there weren't many left. "That was fun," she said with a yawn. The long drive, video games and big dinner had all combined to make her feel very, very sleepy.

"Di?"

"Hunh?"

"You're leaning a little bit to the left." She could hear the amusement in her teammate's voice. "Skip the ice cream- you look like you need to sleep."

Wonder Woman considered protesting, but an enormous yawn nearly cracked her jaw. "Good idea…" she stumbled back into Flash's bedroom, twisting her hair up in a haphazard knot, not even bothering to change her clothes. She pushed back the covers impatiently and climbed in between the sheets, closing her eyes and waiting for sleep to come. She couldn't seem to drift off, though…the room was too unfamiliar. She inhaled loudly.

Seconds later, Wally's voice emerged from the darkness. "Diana?"

"Yes, Flash?"

"You sleeping?"

"Obviously not."

Silence. Then, "Are you… comfortable? I can get you more…pillows or whatever."

"Very." Wonder Woman felt bad for snapping at him. "Don't mind me, Flash. I'm just…" she rolled over. "Good night, Flash."

"Night."

* * *

Diana was woken from probably what was the best night of sleep she'd had in months by her ringing cell phone.

_Bringggg!!!_

She buried her face in her pillow, groaning and wondering if it would stop if she ignored it- and after four rings, it _did _stop. Not bothering to turn it off, she closed her eyes and let sleep drift over her once more.

_Bringggg!!!_

"Oh, _Hades!" _Frustrated now, she twisted in the other direction and reached for her nightstand, where the phone was. She snatched it up and opened it, catching a glimpse of the time as she did so. Seven-_thirty? _Oh, if this was Audery, she was going to get an e_arful. _"Yes?" she snapped into the phone.

"Where are you?"

Taken aback by the sharp male voice at the other end of the line, Wonder Woman's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "Ex_cuse _me?"

"This is Batman." From his tone it was clear that he'd expected her to recognize his voice right away. What conceit. She felt her face grow hot with anger, and…something else. Even over the phone, he had such a presence, such an effect on her…curse him! "Where are you?" he repeated.

"Is there an emergency?" she snapped, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. She looked positively rabid.

"No." Batman's tone clearly showed he thought she was being paranoid. "Why did you leave?"

"Did I need permission to do so?" she said tartly.

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh, so I'm ridiculous now, is that it?" Her voice was as cool and collected as befitted an Amazon, but… "Look, Batman. Is there any point to this conversation?"

"You're acting like a child."

"_I'm_ acting like a child?" Furious, Diana clicked the "off" key and took a huge breath. Seconds later, the phone rang again. She picked it up. "_What?" _

"Cooled down yet?"

"Why would I be hot?"

"You tell me."

Diana slammed the flip phone shut hard, hoping that she'd burst his eardrum. She waited- phone in hand- for him to call again, but he didn't. Grumbling, she reached for the nightstand and her charger. It was on the far end and she couldn't quite reach it. Maybe if she stretched…just a little more…

Her foot caught and tangled in her sheets. She attempted to kick them loose- then tumbled to the ground, landing with a resounding _thud. _

"Damn!" for one of the few times in her life, Diana indulged in an earthly expletive and rolled over, thankful for the rug. Still, her _hip…_she stared at the phone for a moment, daring it to ring. It didn't.

Still incensed, she glared at the phone for a couple more moments before heaving a deep sigh and getting up. _Look at how you're overreacting, _a little voice in the back oh her head nagged. _You're acting completely unlike yourself. Don't you have any self-control?_

_You really care for him, Diana, _another side of her consciousness replied. _It's not just an…attraction thing. You've been drawn to him since the beginning…_

_ Impossible! _She argued back_ Princess Diana 'falls' for no mortal. None!_

_Wait. Why am I conversing with myself?_

Irritated, Diana shook the thoughts from her head and started down the hall after a glance through the ajar door into the den. Flash wasn't on the couch, and his bedclothes were at the foot in a tangled heap. "Wally?" she moved forward. She could hear some rap music being played somewhere, very low. There was no answer.

Diana moved down the hall, pausing to glance at the empty bathroom, and walked into the kitchen. Her host was seated at the table, scowling at papers spread out in front of him. He was scribbling vigorously into a notebook, pausing at intervals to glance at an open book to his left. A radio in front of him was playing the music she's heard earlier. He seemed totally engrossed in…whatever it was that he was doing.

"Um, Flash?"

Flash jumped, nearly falling out of his chair. "Don't sneak up on people like that!"

Diana rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "I was calling your name all the way up the hall! It's not my fault you're deaf," she added good-naturedly.

"You're an Amazon- the ground is supposed to shake when you walk," Flash retorted.

Diana considered docking him on the spot, and he knew it, judging from the mischievous look on his face- but she was too hungry to take his bait. "What do you have to eat in here?"

"I have to go shopping- there's nothing in this place," Flash said as she opened the fridge, only to find a six-pack of Budweiser, mustard and a bowl of baking soda.

"I think shopping's a good idea- although I _was _dying to eat mustard this morning…"

"Shut up." Flash pointed at a bag from on the otherwise-spotless counter. "Open it. I ordered from the deli."

"Zeus be praised!" Diana bounded over and reached for the bag. Inside it was a good-sized amount of lox, bagels, cream cheese, orange juice, yogurt, milk, donuts, coffee…

"What did you do, order everything on the menu?" Diana exclaimed.

"I didn't know what you liked," Flash said, sheepishly. He stood and came over to her. "I ate already, but…"

"Take whatever you want, Flash. I can't finish all this."

"You read my mind, woman." Flash picked up one of the plastic plates in the bag and loaded it up, then sat back down and proceeded to shove it all in at an alarming rate. By the time Diana had sat down, he was halfway though the pile, still reading. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Flash looked startled; then embarrassed. He slammed the book shut. "Just…pushing some papers around." He finished the rest of his breakfast and glanced at Diana's barely-touched plate. "Um, look…I need to go and shower, so…

Diana raised her eyebrows. She'd never seen him so jumpy before. "Are you…all right, Wally?"

"Fine." He was practically sweating, now. "I'm…I'll see you in a bit."

Diana shook her head, then sat down and continued to eat.

* * *

_Are you insane, West? You're acting like a total freak! _

The Flash was standing in his bedroom, already dressed in jeans, trying to find a shirt that didn't smell like the mothballs the housekeeper had packed them in before he'd left for the Watchtower earlier that year. Diana was in the shower. Lovely visual there, although it was totally wasted on him at the moment. He was thinking of other things.

"Get a hold on yourself, dude," he muttered to his half-naked reflection on the door mirror. If his totally warped state of mind wasn't enough, one of his senior teammates now probably thought he was certifiably insane…

He just couldn't stop _thinking. _And thinking wasn't a thing that the Flash did much. Not before the invasion, anyway. Before then- _God, _it seemed such a long time ago- he'd been the fun-loving, testosterone-crazed kid of the League- the one who'd never taken anything seriously, talk less of life. The invasion had changed all that- Flash was thinking now, all right. In fact, he couldn't stop. Life, love, betrayal…these were all things that had been foreign to him. Well, not _foreign_; just not…important.

Now, they were central to him.

"How could I have been so…" he muttered to himself before shaking his head. He needed to get back to normal- fast. He did have a houseguest, after all…he rummaged through another drawer, and finally found a shirt, still in its plastic wrap from the store. He held it up and surveyed it. It would have to do.

In the background, he could hear Diana emerging from the bathroom. She knocked on the door. "Flash?"

"Yeah. Coming." Walking over, he yanked it open and managed a smile of sorts. "It's all yours, Princess."

Diana, shrouded in one of his thick towels that covered her (thankfully) from chest to knees, frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." He shouldered his shirt and walked out, inwardly resolving to get back to normal- fast.

His teammate was already beginning to suspect something. He'd kind of…deflected her with the story about his ex-girlfriend; honestly, he'd forgotten about Jessica's redecorating until they'd walked through the door. His old personal life was so separate from the League- it had always been. Getting over an old girlfriend? Easy. Getting over Hawkgirl's betrayal? Not so easy- especially not when he was being watched so closely by his _very _shrewd teammate. Now standing in the hall, he took a deep, shaky breath.

_You're the Flash, okay? Not Batman. Not the GL. Not J'onn. You get over it- you don't brood. That's not your style. You get over it _fast, _okay? Faster than light- that's your trademark._

He squared his shoulders. He;d managed to forget for a little while yesterday, when he and Diana were hanging out and eating Chinese, but night had brought the feeling back, full-force. He couldn't let it control him, though. Diana couldn't know that he couldn't handle…well, she couldn't know. Ever.

He had a certain Thangerian to get over- and a teammate to fool.

This was going to take work.

A _lot _of work.


End file.
